A Thousand Paper Lanterns
by Nival Vixen
Summary: A series of unconnected and unrelated drabbles to do with Layla and Warren. Not part of the Chaos-verse. Layla/Warren mostly, but some drabbles may feature other relationships. Rated M as a precaution.
1. A new reign

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sky High.

**Author notes:** This is a place for me to put my Layla/Warren drabbles that I've written. They are unrelated, and do not need to be read chronologically in order to be understood. Also, please note that these drabbles will **not** be related to the Chaos-verse, and can be read separately from the Tales of Chaos (_Nature and Fire_, _Heartless_, and _Mother Nature_.)

For those interested in drabbles that are related to the Chaos-verse, they will be uploaded as a separate story eventually, tentatively titled _Flames and flowers_.

...

**Title:** A new reign.

**Word count:** 270 words.

_Read on, oh faithful ones_.

...

Layla could only look at the destruction that surrounded her. A new enemy had risen to power in this, her final year of high school. Will and his parents had fought against the enemy, but even together, all three had lost. They had lost, and the world had been allowed a single day to mourn. Then the tyranny _truly_ began.

Other heroes and hero support had rose against the villain, sure to succeed where the Stronghold Three had failed. They didn't. The heroes dwindled and then villains began to come out of hiding. Baron Battle and Royal Pain were both released from prison, but they too, kneeled before this new super villain.

Evil flourished, and around her, Layla saw her friends fall, one by one as they each tried to outsmart and defeat the new villain. Ethan, vaporised; Magenta, exterminated; Zach, snuffed out. All of them gone. Now the final of her friends, Warren Peace, had decided to take up arms against the villain.

It was a magnificent battle. Balls of fire flew through the air, attacking each and every shield the enemy had produced. But finally, after hours or days of fighting, the final hero had fallen. The reigning super villain stood before his fallen form, victorious, and merciful to the final hero. He had been offered a choice: die or join the side of evil.

As he'd risen to his feet to join her, Layla wondered when exactly she'd started to turn evil. Then Warren had pressed his lips to hers, an internal heat consuming them both that had nothing to do with his power, and she figured that she didn't really care.

...

The end.

Thank you for reading.


	2. Powerful emotions

**Title:** Powerful emotions

**Word count:** 820 words.

_Read on, oh faithful ones_.

...

Warren's power had always been controlled by his emotions, particularly angry ones. He could spend hours lit up in a blaze of flames if he was angry enough, and most of those emotions came from the sidelong glances and loud whispers about him being the son of Baron Battle. He didn't care about them really, but they fuelled his power every time he thought of his mother receiving the same comments, or worse.

Then, after Homecoming and the Royal Pain fiasco, the comments about his father lessened and his own status as a hero began to rise. Warren didn't mind about those comments either, even if he found it a bit harder to power up in the weeks following. His emotions became far more placated when his friendship with Will strengthened, and on some days, Warren found it difficult to garner enough emotion to light a simple tea candle.

Still, he didn't mind so much, blaming it on the colder weather or a sudden breeze that no one else seemed to feel. Warren accepted the laughter of his friends, and used the confused emotion and hurt pride to power up, just to prove to himself that he still could.

It wasn't until he was confronted by Layla that he truly accepted that his power was emotion-based. She'd begun talking calmly and rationally, but he had refused to listen, and they soon began trading insults and shouts, each barbed word sharper than the last. Warren had gone up in flames, stronger and brighter than he'd been able to create for some time now. Layla had looked at him, a knowing expression telling him that she was right and he was wrong. He had been too stunned to do anything other than stare at his flame-covered arms. Then, as she continued to talk to him while his arms flamed, a new feeling overcame Warren. The flames disappeared almost instantly and he pulled Layla to him, kissing her. She'd kissed him back, and he'd taken her then, her body beneath his and warmer than his flames. She'd welcomed him, kissing him, moaning his name, her body responding to every touch. The next morning, with her naked body pressed against his, her body wrapped in his arms, Layla had whispered that she couldn't bear to see him miserable, couldn't bear to see him without his powers. She'd kissed him once more before leaving, not looking back once.

She never said anything to Will, and she'd never said anything about it to Warren either, but she continued to kiss and touch Will rather than _him_, so he knew she'd made her choice. Sometimes Warren swore he could see desire in her eyes when she looked at him, and sometimes he thought he knew why she'd chosen Will. Layla stayed with Will so that he could stay angry, so he could keep his power. It made him angrier, and he couldn't help the flare of flames that erupted when Will talked about Layla being cold in bed. He knew otherwise, and the idea of **Will** being with her, being inside of her, made him feel sick, angry, and cold.

Warren used those sickened and angry emotions every time he fought a villain, and with each foe he defeated, the praise of his superhero ways grew. For a long time, it was only the thought of Will and Layla's relationship that allowed him to power up. He could walk down the street without children being pulled away by their worried mothers; he was thought of only as his own self in regards to his super power, and their praise of his heroic ways did nothing to fan his flames. Then, Layla died. She wasn't even killed by a villain, but rather, a regular non-super kid who robbed a bank to get enough cash for his next hit. Layla had tried to stop him from hurting anyone, and had received a bullet for her troubles.

For months afterwards, Warren couldn't power up. He couldn't feel a thing, couldn't see anything other than Layla's lifeless body in her casket, couldn't even gather enough emotion to cry. After almost three months, Warren woke up in the middle of the night, his arms blazing in anger.

_Why had Layla wasted all of those years with __**Will?**__ She'd obviously wanted to be with him, but she sacrificed her own happiness so he could have his power. And what had it gotten them? She was dead and he was still alone_!

The fire had spread from his arms to his bed, the floor, curtains, encompassing the entire room in heat and flames. He walked out of the burning building without attempting to stop the fire or help anyone. His entire body was alight and he was calm as watched everything and everyone burn around him.

People used to say that Warren was his father's son, and soon, they'll remember why.

...

The end.

Thank you for reading!


	3. A thousand paper lanterns

**Title:** A thousand paper lanterns

******Word count**: 997 words.

_Read on, oh faithful ones_.

...

Layla wasn't entirely happy, despite it being her birthday and the fact that her boyfriend was taking her out for dinner. He hadn't told her where; _it was meant to be a surprise, hippie, so she stop asking already_! No matter what she'd tried, what she'd said, what she'd promised, Warren had refused to tell her what he was planning for her birthday. Honestly, it was such a small thing, she wasn't expecting anything huge, and she just wanted to know where on earth he was taking her to eat! Either way, a week had passed, and despite her best efforts, Layla still had no idea where they were going.

Warren had been suspiciously quiet for two weeks, and while that might have sounded odd to others who thought of the man as nothing but silent and broody, Layla knew better. Even if he had talked with her for the fortnight, the fact that he hadn't held her hand for those two weeks would have made her suspicious. She'd spent many nights on the phone to Magenta, lamenting how he wasn't talking to her, he wasn't even holding her hand, and sometimes, he couldn't even look at her for too long. She had, of course, freaked out completely, thinking that he was going to break up with her over some fancy dinner. That thought had involved a particularly long phone session with Magenta. Zach had called Layla the next day to tell her that Warren was planning a surprise for her birthday, and could she please stop distracting Magenta?

The car stopped and Layla went to lift her blindfold, but Warren's hand stopped her.

"Patience, hippie."

She frowned in the general direction of his voice, but Warren either didn't see or didn't care that she was frowning on her _birthday_, because he simply got out of the car. Layla stayed very still through a lot of willpower, and her blindfold was still on moments later when the door was opened. Warren helped her out of the car, and she could almost see his smirk through the blindfold.

"Where are we, Warren?" Layla asked, trying not to sound whiny.

She wasn't a teenager anymore, she wasn't a silly little girl who had a childhood crush, and she wasn't going to be a woman who, god forbid, _whined_.

"If you don't stop asking questions, I'll take you over my knee and spank you," Warren muttered.

_Okay, __**that**__ comment obviously meant her parents weren't around. At least, she sure hoped not_, she thought, grinning.

"Can we still do that later?" Layla asked, wishing she could see his expression.

His chuckle startled her, as his mouth was closer to her ear than she'd expected. She shivered in anticipation, moving her head to kiss him, her eyes still covered by the blindfold. _Oh, god, they were definitely doing this again_.

"Wait, this isn't my birthday present, is it?" she asked, pulling away.

Warren smacked her butt playfully and Layla grinned to where she thought he was.

"I told you not to ask any more questions, hippie. Now, stop distracting me," he added, pressing one more kiss to her lips before moving out of her reach.

Layla crossed her arms over her chest, not the most patient person in the world, super or other.

Warren shook his head at the sight of Layla looking so put out in the completely wrong direction to where he was, but a grin was on his face that he could never seem to hold back when with her.

He'd been terrified that she'd find out everything within a matter of minutes of asking. As a result, he doubted that he'd said more than ten words to her in the past two weeks, trying to keep his mouth closed as tight as it could go. He didn't even dare touch her, not wanting her to feel the paper cuts that covered his hands, sure that she'd even feel them through his gloves. He couldn't even look at her for long, certain that she'd see the answer to her endless questions in his eyes.

Zach had confessed that he'd told Layla she was getting a surprise for her birthday, and it was only the fact that they'd been friends for almost six years now that Warren didn't punch him or set fire to his clothes. Secretly, he'd been somewhat relieved that Layla knew that much, but his relief was short lived when she started questioning him. He'd resolved to never surprise her again if this was the result.

"All right, you can open your eyes now," Warren said.

Taking off the blindfold quickly, Layla opened her eyes, her jaw dropping at the sight before her. No matter what she thought Warren might have done, she never would have thought of **this**. He was standing before her, a single paper lantern in his hands. Before she could say anything or move forward, a small flame began to flicker in the lantern, and around them, hundreds of lanterns began to light up as well. They lifted from the ground to surround them, and Layla could feel the warmth from the small flames. As she moved to step forward, she noticed some words appearing on the lantern in Warren's hands.

_Marry me_?

She almost wanted to laugh at Warren thinking he even needed to ask her. Layla couldn't imagine her life without him in it in some way. If he wanted a ring to make their relationship official, even after five years of dating, she wasn't going to deny him that.

"Of course I will," Layla said, smiling at him brighter than his flames.

Warren held back a sigh of relief, grinning when Layla all but launched herself at him to hug him tightly, her lips pressed against his. Deepening the kiss, Warren moved so he could let go of the final paper lantern and wrap his arms around her, while above them, a thousand paper lanterns floated up into the air.

...

The end.

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!


	4. A very important date

******Title:** A very important date.

**Word count: **993 words

_Read on, oh faithful ones..._

...

Zach fidgeted slightly at the restaurant table, hating how nervous he felt. It wasn't his first date (and he sure as heck hoped it wouldn't be his last), but this one was a very important date. With a capital **I**.

"Can I get you anything?" the waitress asked, smiling down at him.

"Nah, just waiting for my date," Zach said with a quick and bright smile. "Oh, actually," he said just as she was walking away, "Can I get some bread? That's free, right?"

"Sure thing. Just try to stay in your seat until your girlfriend arrives," the waitress said with an amused smile as Zach started to stand up.

"Oh, right. Sure. But it's not my girlfriend," he called over his shoulder as she left to the kitchen.

Realising that people were staring at his announcement, Zach went bright red. Grateful that the restaurant's lighting wouldn't reveal his glow, Zach sank down onto his seat and continued to wait.

The waitress returned with a basket of bread, and he picked at a piece, glancing to the door every so often. The bell jingled for probably the twentieth time in five minutes, and Zach grinned brightly, standing up again.

"Hey, man. Where've you been?" he asked, pulling Ethan into a hug and kissing his cheek.

"I changed shirts three times before I was happy, and then I realised that my tie had a stain on it," Ethan muttered, adjusting his tie with a frown.

"Well, you look great," Zach said, grinning.

Ethan blushed slightly, hurrying to sit in his seat. Zach chuckled to himself and sat in his seat as well. Ethan had never been one for receiving compliments well, and after seven years of dating - despite Zach's insistence that all he said was the truth - Ethan was still too modest to take them with anything less than a blush.

"Hi, are you ready to order now?" a waitress asked, smiling tersely.

Zach frowned slightly, noting that this waitress wasn't the same one who had served him before. He looked around and saw her in the kitchen. He read her lips as she talked with the rest of the staff, Zach recognised a few words that made him all too aware of why she'd changed areas with their current waitress.

"Is everything all right?" the waitress asked, sounding hesitant when she saw where he was looking.

"Yeah, fine. Nice to know that the other waitress is homophobic. You should put **that** on a badge too," Zach muttered, seeing the waitress' badge that stated she could speak Chinese.

"How do you know she's homophobic?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"I read her lips. My sister's deaf; I helped teach her to read lips, and she taught me swear words," Zach said proudly. "I've got one I could use now..."

"Zach, if you flip the bird, I'm leaving. You _know_ what happened last time," Ethan muttered, not looking away from his menu, as if Zach insulting people in sign language was a regular occurrence.

"Fine, but only because you told me off so sweetly," Zach said, grinning when Ethan blushed again.

The waitress wrote their orders down and left quickly, wondering just what had happened the last time he'd given someone the finger.

"Are you all right, Zach? You look more hyped than usual," Ethan noted, frowning.

"I'm fine. Hey, how was your day?" he asked, eager to get the conversation as far away from himself as possible.

Thankfully, Ethan carried the conversation until their drinks arrived, and continued until their main dishes were served too. He talked about his day at the bank; how he'd met with Layla and Warren for lunch (she was busy with an environmental case her law firm was working on; yes, Warren was sending Zach his annual copy of the Firefighter's Calendar - Mr. January's picture was destroyed); and how his parents wanted them over for dinner that weekend.

Once Zach had finished choking on his drink, he looked at Ethan, who was grinning at him, albeit hesitantly.

"Come on, Zach, it won't be as bad as last time," Ethan said.

"Dude, every single lightbulb in the house exploded. Your mother had to go to _hospital_," Zach reminded him. "I'm not surprised she hates me," he muttered.

"She doesn't _hate_ you," Ethan said, though he didn't even convince himself. "Just say you'll come, please?"

"All right, I'll come," Zach said with a sigh, unable to say no to Ethan about anything.

"Would you like to see the dessert menu?" the waitress asked as she came over to clear their plates.

"No need, I already know what I want. Deep fried ice cream with chocolate sauce, and an extra side of chocolate sauce," Zach added, starting to brighten up.

"I have no idea how you can eat that and stay that thin," Ethan groused.

"Please, you eat half of my dessert; there's no mystery to it," he replied, grinning now. "He'll have the rice pudding with custard," Zach said to the waitress.

"So how was your day?" Ethan asked after she'd left with their order.

"Yeah, fine. Marcus gave me a few extra jobs next week, so that's something," he said, referring to his job as an electrician. "Alexis agreed to swap my late-night shifts with her morning ones next week," Zach said, knowing how Ethan hated the late hours of his call-centre job.

Ethan was going to reply, but then their dessert arrived, and he simply stared at his bowl in shock.

"You okay, Eth?" Zach asked, worried at his prolonged silence.

Nodding, still in shock, Ethan stood up, pulled Zach to him and kissed him eagerly. "Of course I'll marry you," he murmured against his lips.

"Oh, thank god. Now, on to more important things... Can you pay for dinner? I'm broke," Zach said, grinning when his fiance rolled his eyes.

Ethan cleaned the ring and slipped it onto his finger, grinning brighter than Zach ever could.

...

The end.

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it!


End file.
